Chapter 2

"I'm sorry," Yue Ran apologized in a childish voice and reached out a hand to help him up.

But the boy glared at the hand she stretched out and rudely slapped it away.

Yue Ran was not put off by his attitude. She could not bother to argue with a child.

She just followed behind the boy, who walked away without even sparing a glance at her, and asked, "Are you okay?" She looked at him worriedly. But hearing no reply, she continued on shamelessly, "I am Yue Ran; what's your name?"

The boy stopped and asked. "Asian?"

His voice sounded so childlike, yet it could easily send a chill of dread through anyone who heard it. It was as if this boy was made out of pure evil.

"Yes, my mom is from the East, while my dad is from Italy." Yue Ran's eyes sparkled at his reply, and she answered him excitedly.

After the little boy got an affirmative answer, he ignored her again and continued to walk on.

Yue Ran inwardly let out a sigh.

Her mission target this time is really unfriendly.

She followed behind the boy with a downcast expression because she was ignored, like a little sad chick following behind its mother.

"Don't follow me."

The boy frowned.

"My mother doesn't want me anymore; I can only stay here." Yue Ran kicked a pebble with her little feet sadly. "I only followed you because I was afraid, so don't chase me away; I only know you."

The boy was taken aback by the little girl's answer.

His tone became a little more gentle as he said, "I don't know you."

"You already know me!" Yue Ran grinned playfully with a mean gleam in her eyes. "I said I am Yue Ran!"

Sure enough, acting like a stubborn child is fun!

"But you don't know me," the boy answered blankly.

"Then tell me what your name is!" Yue Ran retorted.

"I don't want to," the boy said.

Tom had enough of the orphanage, where children of all ages ran wild through grey tile hallways and wooden doors lining the walls.

The Wool's Orphanage may be an average orphanage for others, but for him, the Wool's Orphanage is hell.

In this place, he had no friends, nor did he really want any. And that includes the little girl standing right in front of him.

At that moment, a woman came out of the orphanage and came over to the two children.

The woman had thin blonde hair that was styled short in the 1940s fashion and consisted of carefully managed curls. She dressed plainly with a grey dress and some old black heels that clattered, echoing on the cemented floors she walked on.

She is Mrs. Cole.

"Who is the little girl, Tom?" Mrs. Cole asked.

She, who cared for orphans, saw a new face—Yue Ran—from outside the window talking to an unhappy Tom Riddle.

She sighed before going out to where they were.

The newcomer must have been orphaned or perhaps abandoned. It wasn't an uncommon story, really, since times were tough and, with the war, children were finding themselves orphaned due to the air raids.

"Oh," Yue Ran said with a singsong voice. "So your name is Tom!"

She stared at the boy with big, bright eyes.

Tom avoided Yue Ran's sight, feeling rather uncomfortable. He felt that the girl seemed even more enthusiastic than before.

So troublesome.

Why is she always staring at him?

"Hello, beautiful auntie!" Yue Ran greeted her warmly. "My mother left me here; she said that she would come back to pick me up soon." Yue Ran clasped her hands together and said, "I don't eat much, and I will be very obedient, so can I stay here, please?"

Looking at the little girl's doll-like features, Mrs. Cole, who always had a sad and mean expression all year round, couldn't help but pinch the little girl's face with her hands and instantly felt pity for her.

The poor child must have been abandoned by her mother. Saying that one would be picked up soon is a very common reason for mothers to drop off their children and never come back again.

"Okay," Mrs. Cole said.

"Thank you, beautiful auntie!"

Yue Ran was alone to wander as Mrs. Cole admitted her into the orphanage.

As soon as Mrs. Cole left, Tom looked at Yue Ran gloomily.

"Sycophant," he said.

"Tom," Yue Ran called out, leaning her face close to his.

"What?"

She moves in to peck his cheek.

Tom stared blankly at the girl with saliva on his face.

His face turned red when his mind finally registered what had just happened.

He quickly wiped the unhygienic liquid off his face.

Disgusting!

Unforgivable!

☼︎ ✵ ☼︎

Mrs. Cole changed Yue Ran's name to Leila; whether it was for her own convenience or to brainwash her into conformity and subservience, only Mrs. Cole herself would know.

Leila.

Yue Ran thought that it was a pretty good name.

It would save her from having her identity exposed and then being hunted by her father's enemies as a result.

She still needs to live to complete her task, thank you very much.

Yue Ran has a very sweet mouth and is very pretty and cute as well. Adults and children in the orphanage all like her because of it, except maybe those who are jealous of her and have a darker mind than others.

Tom has no feelings towards this newcomer, only indifference.

Yue Ran ignored the threat in Tom's eyes and insisted on living with him in a small, dark, and dingy room with a deadpan face.

In fact, Mrs. Cole had arranged for her favorite children, including Yue Ran, to live in a large, sunny room. But no one had expected Yue Ran to voluntarily live in Tom Riddle's small, dark, and dingy room, which doesn't look welcoming and warm at all.

Because of this, the relationship between Yue Ran and the little girls who are jealous of her has also eased.